It was a bloodbath on the Publishers Weekly Stock Index in July, with the share prices of 17 companies falling, while prices rose at only four. The imbalance drove the PWSI down 7.8% in the month compared to only a 0.5% dip in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Although second-quarter earnings were good at a number of companies, investors and analysts focused on future performances which, for some companies, tended not to look as strong as the last few quarters. That was certainly the case at Marvel. Although sales skyrocketed and earnings beat previous estimates, a slowing of toy sales was enough to drive down the company's stock price 33.1% in July. At Amazon, a slowing growth rate in second-quarter sales in its media group led to a sell-off in the stock, resulting in a 28.5% drop in its share price. Books-A-Million was the only company to have a meaningful increase in its stock price, with the 22.7% gain aided by an upgrade from the research firm Sun Trust.

COMPANY JUNE 30 JULY 30 % CHANGE
Source: Reed Business Information
WINNERS
Books-A-Million 5.91 7.25 22.7%
Educational Development Corp. 11.07 11.39 2.9
Barnes & Noble 33.98 34.38 1.2
John Wiley & Sons 32.00 32.36 1.1
LOSERS
Marvel 19.52 13.05 -33.1%
Amazon.com 54.40 38.92 -28.5
Franklin Elec. Pub. 4.65 3.50 -24.7
Hastings Ent. 9.19 7.30 -20.6
Advanced Marketing Svc. 12.91 11.33 -12.2
Reader's Digest 15.99 14.28 -10.7
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stock Index 543.20 500.56 -7.8%
Dow Jones Average 10,188.45 10,139.71 -0.5%